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Peninsular Thinking A conversation about Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, Manchester, Seabeck, Southworth, Suquamish, Belfair, Keyport, Olalla, Bangor, Hansville, Indianola, Port Gamble, Allyn, Port Ludlow, Gig Harbor and every once in a while something about the good folks who don't have the good fortune to live here.

District policies call for immediate expulsion for gun in school

One person who commented on today’s story about
the impact of expulsions on families said he thought expulsion
was too harsh a punishment for a 9-year-old boy who brought a gun
to school in February 2012, resulting in the critical injury of an
8-year-old classmate. The girl survived, but her health remains
compromised, a spokeswoman for the family has said.

Here is the comment from Larry Croix and my response outlining
the rights and responsibilities of school officials, students and
parents in cases where students bring a gun to school. In short,
most districts, under state law and their own polices, have no
choice but to expel the student. Students are entitled to due
process, including the right to appeal.

Larry says, “There was a lot about the 9 year old in this story
that I could not fathom. I don’t want to minimize the past and
future pain and suffering of the victim. That said I don’t
understand how a 9 year old could be criminally guilty of anything.
I thought and still think a years expulsion was wrong headed given
the circumstances. Changing his school certainly, but anything
beyond that was excessive and I have to wonder what they were
thinking beyond avoiding having to deal with over wrought parents
of other children.”

My response, “Under state law, bringing a gun to school is
“grounds
for” expulsion. Bremerton, like most districts, spells out in
its
parent handbook a policy that students who bring a gun to
school will be immediately expelled.

The law says students who suspended or expelled are entitled to
due process including the right to appeal (the link here is to
a document posted on the state Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction’s website), but schools can emergency expel a
student who poses an immediate threat. The emergency expulsion,
must be followed within 24-hours by written notification to
parents/ guardians and converted to some other form of
discipline.

So in the case of the 9-year-old, the district was bound by
state law and its own policies to expel the boy. His guardian
doesn’t dispute the district’s actions immediately following the
shooting.”